June 11, 2002

"It was made abundantly
clear from the disastrous
image of those days of disinformation, in which the majority
of employees, reporters and journalists put our lives on the
line only for media owners and board members to decide not to
publish anything and hide from the public the serious events
that were taking place in the streets, while mainstream TV channels
aired old movies as if nothing was happening. We all must assume
those days of confusion, tensions, interests, and mistakes with
courage and rectify with deep sincerity. No more manipulation.
We workers say firmly and responsibly that we will not accept
such behavior again."

- Venezuelan
Media Workers Statement

Caracas,
June 10, 2002

Narco News '02

"No
More Media

Manipulation"

Historic Statement
by

Venezuela Media
Workers

Publisher's Note: The Trade Union at Venezuela's
largest newspaper, El Nacional, released this historic statement
yesterday through its Executive Council, serving warning to the
Media owners that "we will no longer allow ourselves to
be used" in the ways that occured during the attempted coup
d'etat last April in Venezuela. To my knowledge, this is the
first time anywhere in the capitalist world that media workers
have risen up so coherently against the simulators of the mass
media. It also serves as concrete evidence, as we begin Immedia
Summer 2002, that the revolution against Media is alive and well
(a fact that, understandably, may not be evident yet to many
within the United States and the developed world, because it
comes from below, and from the outside in). We await further
instructions from headquarters. The union can be contacted at
sitranac@el-nacional.com. Special thanks to our colleagues
at Vheadline.com for the rapid translation of this
document.

No more
manipulation

and
confrontation

The El Nacional
newspaper company has censored this communiqué and its workers have taken it
upon themselves to let people know where the union stands.

Society is currently facing
a crisis based on hatred and manipulation, imposed on us at will
by leaders and organizations, a situation, which little by little,
has led us to confrontations and intolerance on all levels and
which could end in even greater ills.

As representative of the
workers of the country's most important print media, our trade
union feels a deep responsibility vis-a-vis all the recent events
and we think it important to announce that we will no longer
allow ourselves to be used as a political flag or as an instrument
of confrontation.

We want to make it clear
that we do not agree nor will we agree with aggressive political
marches, work stoppages and strikes for political purposes.

We do not approve of distorted
and intolerant news slants and are not prepared to accept misnomered
leaders and organizations that allegedly represent, guide and
manipulate us with their stoppages and strikes when on repeated
occasions they have denied workers the legitimate right to strike
for labor benefits and failed to react to dismissals of workers
exercising the right to free union activity and collective bargaining
discussions to improve labor conditions.

No more manipulation of
media sector workers
making us responsible for editorial lines. Media owners must
accept that they are a force in society and for that reason have
a social responsibility, not only to the workforce but also to
Venezuelan society. They must understandand accept that their
workers are doing our job and not working for a political project.
If companies or media owners support or prefer one of the poles
or groups disputing political power in Venezuela, we demand that
they make it clear that it is the employer's and not the worker's
position.

Print and broadcast media
owners and board members: please assume your responsibility and
use your power in a positive manner to create currents of opinion,
behaviors and attitudes in society in general. If you really
want dialogue and rectification, take a leading role to benefit
everyone and intervene correctly towards achieving social peace.

Print & broadcast
workers: we raise our voice as a right to be heard and to let
people know what we really feel. We are responsible for what
happens like every other Venezuelan. We must take a stand. We
are the real majority whose support those so called leaders falsely
claim. They have brought us to this confrontation. The real majority
in the country just wants peace, no work stoppages, no war, and
no coup d'etats.

We want to work.

That is the real majority
and we media workers play an important role in channeling this
sincere and optimistic message.

No more manipulations
and confrontation.

We propose that the media's
social commitment, journalist ethics, work relationships and
work contract obligations imposed on journalists become topics
for debate between company and workers to reach harmony in media
circles and society in general, a debate which must be undertaken
free of the heat of political militancy.

We must really be convinced
that our individual and collective future is at stake and that
each individual and organization must assume a quota of reflection
to act positively.

We will not allow ourselves
to be manipulated again.

We will not allow ourselves
to used as an image of lies to propagate disinformation.

No more.

It was made abundantly
clear from the disastrous
image of those days of disinformation, in which the majority
of employees, reporters and journalists put our lives on the
line only for media owners and board members to decide not to
publish anything and hide from the public the serious events
that were taking place in the streets, while mainstream TV channels
aired old movies as if nothing was happening.

We all must assume those
days of confusion, tensions, interests, and mistakes with courage
and rectify with deep sincerity. No more manipulation. We workers
say firmly and responsibly that we will not accept such behavior
again.

We are all responsible
for what happened in April, responsible for not wanting to dialogue,
for not being tolerant, and for not allowing all the voices of
a pluralistic Nation access to microphones, cameras and tape
recorders. We are all responsible for passively accepting editorial
lines, even when they curtailed the right to truthful information.
There can be no dialogue and conciliation in the country, as
long as the media continue to stimulate confrontation in society.
Instead of excuses, inflating and deflating situations, all of
us must take on a serious dialogue that allows us to come closer
and that creates consensus in which different and obvious positions
in society will be respected, a dialogue based on democracy and
not coup d'etats, conspiracies and confrontations.

Commitment and responsibility
must start now and we must all participate in pacific and sincere
change.

How these events
changed us:

The Secret History
of Narco News:

The inquiry begins:

Add Your Comments Via

And
This Just In...

"Closing its eyes to the one of the most odious
media campaigns ever launched against a democratic government,
the organisation Reporters sans Frontières ("Reporters
Without Borders") has allowed itself to be manipulated and
has published several reports against the Chavez government,
which has never limited freedom of expression, banned media,
or arrested a journalist."